It’s clear that this young lady’s looks do not favor her father. Those clear brown eyes and fair complexion could only be—shall we say—matriarchally determined.
But it’s a safe bet where most—if not all—of that quick temper, fierce loyalty, and outspoken honesty of hers come from. That would have to be credited to the former mayor of Davao city whom she replaced in the last election.
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I first came across Mayor Sara Duterte’s name a few years back when, as vice mayor, she reportedly lit into a sheriff and punched him out, not just once but three times, for having gone ahead with a demolition of shanties without waiting for her. At the time, I thought she was just behaving like any other spoiled young warlord, or warlady in her case.
Then, during the campaign, I was moved by her account of having been sexually abused in her youth by some teen-ager. Having a daughter myself, I blanched at her father’s dismissive comment, “Masyado lang siyang ma-drama!” Only later, after reading more about them, did I come to appreciate how absolute must be the mutual trust that binds the Duterte pere et fils—certainly deep enough for the father’s rough remarks to slough off the relationship like water off a duck’s back.
More recently, the public thrilled to the news of expected triplets from the lady mayor, only to be saddened when she had to lose one of them. One out of three may not seem like bad odds to some, but as an expectant grandfather these days, I’m starting to understand—together with the President, as well as his predecessor Mrs Arroyo who’s experienced a similar tragedy—that the loss of one grandchild is always one too many.
However, it’s the public life of Mayor Sara that people are lately getting curious about, after Duterte’s recent remarks—perhaps only half joking—that she would be his top choice to succeed him someday, as in fact she already has down in Davao city.
The lady is not shy about giving people a piece of her mind, especially if they’re obnoxious types like, say, Senator Trillanes, whom she all but challenged to a fistfight. But that seems to be just one side of her, the same way that the foul-mouthed public persona of her father is very different—as everyone will attest—from the sober lawyer who’s come to be called “Tatay Digong” by his fans.
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Lately, Mayor Sara has been showing a lot of political initiative and organizational savvy—qualities which will stand her in good stead, not just now as she goes about helping to build her father’s legacy, but also in the future as she sets about to build her own.
Yesterday, Sara hosted the launch of a new movement called Tapang at Malasakit in Fort Bonifacio. I wasn’t able to attend, but it was quite a sight to see video grabs of an endless sea of red T-shirts inside the tented venue at the Fort.
Ostensibly intended to unify all pro-Duterte groups, this new alliance can—and should—become the umbrella for everybody who shares common cause against all the shady characters working to topple this administration—from multibillion-peso druglords, to traditional oligarchies in business and politics, to unrepentant rebels in the countryside, to well-heeled Fil-Americans lobbying to cut off US assistance to our country.
Days earlier, in Davao, the mayor also launched another campaign called BantayDagat. Local government, barangay, and law enforcement officials spent all Saturday morning picking up trash from the beaches around the city. This new campaign is supposed to be the companion of an earlier initiative called BantayBukid, which seeks to bring the same environmental spirit to rural farmlands.
These two campaigns may seem small-town, because in fact they are. But if they are picked up by the hundreds of other towns and cities where the rest of our people live—through the active support of agencies like DENR, DILG, and the national federations of LGU officials—what seems small-time today may well become very large indeed.
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On the peace and order front, Sara has created the Davao City Peace Committee, a new body tasked to engage NPA forces in the region in localized peace talks. It’s a bold initiative which the NPA “Southern Command” has already called “auspicious,” and to which they are open.
While peace talks at the national level remain on hold, such local peace talks may turn out to be the only way to give peace a continuing chance. In fact, they may be the only way, in our fractious country, that peace can be established—not from the top down, but from the ground up, one community at a time. There’s no reason why the Davao initiative can’t be duplicated elsewhere.
These are big ideas and big actions coming from this feisty young mother and mayor. She does her gender and generation—not just her doting father—proud.
Readers can write me at gbolivar1952@yahoo.com.